Henry Elementary School

Ricardo is fairly new at his position of multi-site food service supervisor, but he’s loved the work he’s been able to do in the past year. While he works at a few different sites, at Henry he loves being able to make jokes with the students.  

“We can make jokes with the kids even at the time that we serve food, and they’re happy,” Ricardo said. “We’re happy. I’m happy – that’s good.” 

The Hermosillo native’s hobbies outside of work include swimming, hiking, and traveling. His all-time favorite way to travel is by going on cruises. If he had to add it up, Ricardo would say he’s been on more than a dozen cruises and tries to go on one cruise a year.

Margaret is a 26-year employee of Tucson Unified School District but has spent the last 10 years working at Henry Elementary. Throughout her career, Margaret has held a variety of positions but moved into the CSP role this year. Part of why she loves working at the eastside school is because everyone on staff is a team player. And because, after working together day in and day out, it feels like a family. 

“My own son went here and several of our staff members actually attended Henry,” Margaret said. “We even have some grandparents and their children and children’s children that have attended here.” 

When not dealing with the stress of work, she’s trying to wrangle up her new puppy at home, a 3-month-old golden doodle named Nelly. So far Nelly has proven to be a bit mischievous, but really smart. 

Elena, an 18-year employee at Henry, wouldn’t change a thing about her job – it’s her dream job. The Tucson native feels so fortunate to be able to work as a reading interventionalist because she believes every child needs the opportunity to be able to learn to read and, to be successful as an adult, they need to develop their literacy skills. 

“It’s so hard to see any student struggle with something that should be accessible to everybody,” Elena said.
 
Her favorite part of working with her students is seeing that lightbulb moment, when a student is able to make those connections with reading and feel successful at it. She loves seeing their face light up with smiles.  

“It’s the biggest reward,” Elena said.